


How Arthur got up the courage to kiss Merlin

by dayishujia



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, your grandma is really forward even though i swear we’re just friends AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 10:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4176933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dayishujia/pseuds/dayishujia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its the winter holidays again and Merlin and Arthur have a tradition of spending some of the vacation with each other before having to go off and do family stuff. This year, Merlin's visit and Arthur's grandmother's visit happened to coincide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Arthur got up the courage to kiss Merlin

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by a list of au's on tumblr (http://lilmissgingewrites.tumblr.com/post/121782979583/au-ideas)

When the holidays rolled around, Merlin always spent a couple days of the vacation with Arthur’s family before returning to the country but this was the first year that Merlin’s visit coincided with Arthur’s grandmother’s.

“Really,” Arthur said as Merlin stripped off his thick purple winter coat. They stood in the front hall alone, as the Pendragon servants also had the holiday off, all except the chef who was busy preparing that night’s dinner and would have the holiday off, starting tomorrow. “She’s not that bad.”

Merlin made a noise of disbelief. “You said she was your father’s mother.”

“Yeah, alright,” Arthur conceded. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, or whatever the saying might be. But you deal with my father pretty well and she’s not as bad as he is. You’ll be fine.”

“Arthur!” the deep, unmistakable voice of Uther Pendragon practically roared from the great room a couple doors down, “Hurry up with the Emrys boy and get in here, the both of you. Your grandmother is waiting.”

Arthur let out a sigh. “That’s our call.”

Merlin oddly felt the walk from the entry to the great room was akin to a death march. The Pendragon household was always very intimidating and the holiday decorations didn’t do much to make the home more friendly as even they were incredibly expensive. Just one of them would be enough for Merlin to be able to pay for his tuition at Camelot High. 

When the boys entered the great room, Merlin’s eyes quickly focused on the elderly woman sitting in the extravagant arm chair.

She had pure white hair tied up in a neat bun at the top of her head and held there with a fancy, glittering comb. There was not a single strand of silky hair out of place and Merlin figured she was from whom Morgana got it from. 

The woman’s face was stoic and firm, just like her son’s. There were wrinkles at her eyes and laugh lines around her red lips. She had her son’s strong chin and sharp nose. 

It was then that Merlin discovered Arthur’s rugged good looks ran in the family. 

“Don’t just take your time, boys,” Uther scolded upon noticing the boys enter the room and dally. “Go on.”

Arthur walked ahead, crossing the room with a wide gate and reaching down to wrap his arms loosely around the old lady’s shoulders and press a kiss to her cheek. 

“Grandma,” he said and Merlin was amused that he used the term rather than a more posh one. He half expected him to say ‘grandmama’ so when it was just the normal-human ‘grandma’ Merlin was as tickled as if he had gone and said ‘memaw’. “This is my best friend Merlin. It’s alright, he’s more intelligent than he looks.”

At that, Merlin made a face, which Arthur returned with one that seemed to say ‘prove me wrong’. Merlin rolled his eyes and approached the woman who was giving him her own look, not-so-patiently waiting for her greeting. 

“Hello, Mrs. Pendragon,” Merlin said, giving the woman a quick hug and peck on the cheek. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“And you, Merlin,” the woman said, sounding worlds nicer than her son. “Arthur here prattles on about you non-stop when you’re not around.”

Arthur protested and Merlin was amused to see the tips of his ears go pink. “I do not!” he exclaimed but the damage was done and Merlin was grinning wolfishly at him.

“Is that so, Mrs. Pendragon?” he asked, dropping himself into one of the nearby arm chairs, ready to be regaled the delightful stories of Arthur missing him.

Mrs. Pendragon gave him a solemn nod and seemed to search her mind for the best, most worthwhile story to share. 

It was then that Morgana, Arthur’s half sister joined them from upstairs, looking more like a queen than any woman Merlin had ever laid eyes on. She and Uther may not get on well, but there was no denying the family blood. 

“What are we talking about?” she asked, coming to sit next to her grandmother. She took in Merlin’s eager face, Arthur’s mortified one, and the old woman’s thoughtful expression. 

Merlin grinned at her. “Arthur moons over me when I’m gone.”

Morgana’s face lit up like a child at Christmas. She giggled behind a thin hand and leaned forward a bit. “I like this topic,” she declared and Arthur groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. This certainly was not the way he pictured this evening going. 

“Last Christmas,” Mrs. Pendragon started, her voice regal and almost diplomatic as she started her story. “Arthur came to the manor before you had gotten the chance to visit him. He spent the entire week moping and groaning. He certainly wasn’t good company. I could scarcely get anything out of him about schooling or home life. All he did was complain the entire time.”

“Grandma!” Arthur exclaimed, sounding completely mortified. “It wasn’t like that!”

“It’s true,” Morgana said between fits of laughter. “It’s true! I remember that week. All he seemed capable of saying was ‘Merlin this’ and ‘Merlin that’.

Arthur surged forward and took Merlin by the forearm, wrapping his fingers around the boy’s thinner arm. “C’mon, Merlin,” he said, tugging a little. “Let’s go play games or something.”

“I’m having fun here,” Merlin chuckled, twisting his arm out of Arthur’s hold. He smiled at Arthur’s grandmother and asked for more stories and she was only more than happy to oblige, recounting tales of Arthur missing Merlin when Merlin wasn’t around.

Soon enough, it was time for dinner and the family relocated to the dining room, with Uther sitting at one end of the long, dark wood table and his mother on the other end. Morgana sat nearest her grandmother and Merlin took the seat across from her. Grudgingly, Arthur took the spot next to Merlin. 

Once Uther carved the goose and everyone had a generous helping of everything that was laid out, Mrs. Pendragon turned to Merlin and asked, “So, how long have you and my grandson been dating?”

Merlin nearly spat out the forkful of green beans he had in his mouth and Arthur choked himself on a sip of sparkling water. “W-what?” Merlin stuttered as he pound a fist on Arthur’s back. 

Mrs. Pendragon just looked at the boys expectantly. Merlin looked to Morgana for help but she looked like she just had been given the best gift in all of creation. A quick glance at Uther told Merlin that the man was hardly interested in the conversation.

“Well?” Mrs. Pendragon urged, waiting not-so-patiently for an answer. 

Merlin gaped for a moment, searching for words, any words, just to say something. 

“Grandma,” Arthur said, voice rough from the coughing he had been doing to releave the choking feeling. “Merlin and I,” he started, gesturing between himself and Merlin, “we’re not together.”

The woman looked mildly taken aback. “Well, that’s not right, is it?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Mrs. Pendragon,” Merlin helpfully supplied, trying not to sound too adamant about that fact. 

“That just doesn’t seem right, does it Morgana?” the woman asked, to which Morgana agreed, earning her a Glare of Death from Arthur. 

“There’s a girl in our music theory class that Merlin likes,” Arthur informed them, as he moved the garlic-and-chive mashed potatoes around on his plate. “Isn’t that right, Merlin?”

All eyes turned toward Merlin. He gaped for a minute, trying to find the appropriate answer. Sure, he knew who Arthur was referring to. Her name was Freya and she was really pretty; all big brown eyes and long brown hair. When she smiled she seemed to make the room more interesting but she had nothing on Arthur. Not really. 

Merlin swallowed thickly. “Yeah,” he said because it seemed like the right answer. It didn’t seem to phase Arthur’s grandmother, however, who just turned to Morgana and asked,

“Don’t they make a great pair?” 

Morgana earnestly nodded. “So cute. Athletic boy and nerdy boy, its like straight from a novel.”

Mrs. Pendragon nodded sagely. “Merlin seems so good for Arthur too.”

“Indeed,” Morgana agreed. 

“Why aren’t you two together?” Mrs. Pendragon asked, turning back to the boys. “Is something wrong with my grandson, Mr. Emrys?”

“No, nothing!” Merlin sputtered, waving his hands about to defuse the situation. “Arthur’s fantastic!”

“So why don’t you date him?” she asked, without missing a beat and suddenly, Merlin felt exhausted. From the corner of his attention, he heard Uther sigh. “I would love a grandson-in-law like you.”

“S-s-son-in-law?”

“Grandma, we’re not even dating,” Arthur said, sounding like he had the patience of a saint but Merlin knew better. He knew Arthur better than that, and it helped that he could see the rose-red blush creeping up his chest. “Don’t start planning our wedding.”

“Oh, it would be a fantastic wedding, if you planned it, grandma,” Morgana practically sang, reaching out and touching a hand to her grandmother’s thin arm. Her smile was wide and beautiful and Merlin thought he had never seen anything more terrifying. 

“Quite.” Mrs. Pendragon didn’t tear her storm-blue eyes from the boys.

“Grandma,” Arthur almost whined. 

“Nonsense, Arthur,” Mrs. Pendragon waved him off, “You need to hurry up and snatch him up before someone else comes along! Boys like Merlin don’t wait forever, do you, Merlin?”

Merlin looked up at her from his plate. He wasn’t sure when he turned back to his hardly touched food but he wish his attention could remain there. It certainly was safer than taking part in this conversation. “No, we don’t, Mrs. Pendragon.”

The woman nodded, more than satisfied with Merlin’s answer. Morgana seemed so gleeful that she might cry from it. Arthur, on the other hand, wasn’t as amused. He growled Merlin’s name under his breath and kicked him under the table. 

“Especially if he’s starting to fancy someone else,” Mrs. Pendragon continued, either oblivious to the abuse under the table or ignoring it. “You need to hurry, Arthur. Sweep him up before someone else does.”

“There’ll be no ‘sweeping’ grandma.”

“You’ll need to rightfully woo Merlin. That’s right,” Mrs. Pendragon amended thoughtfully. “I never had to woo a man, Uther’s father just came to me,” she admitted and Uther could be heard clearing his throat at the other end of the table. “But I think nice boys would enjoy receiving flowers. Maybe chocolates, I know I certainly liked that when Uther’s father used to send me chocolates for no reason.”

“Merlin likes records,” Morgana helpfully supplied, unfazed by Merlin’s mortified gaze and Arthur’s glare. “The classics like Air Supply and Lionel Richie.”

“Wonderful,” the old woman clasped her hands together in glee. “There you go Arthur!”

“Thank you, Morgana,” Arthur said, finally giving in and letting the conversation go the way it was going to go anyway. Morgana gave him a seemingly polite smile but both Arthur and Merlin knew that she was getting too much evil joy out of it as possible. 

After what Merlin was sure was the entire night but only turned out to be an appropriate amount of time, everyone managed to eat their fill and brought their plates to the kitchen for cleaning at a later time. 

Before the conversation could start up anew, Arthur grabbed Merlin’s wrist and took off for one of the empty rooms in the house. Once safely hidden in the room and the door securely shut, Merlin felt as if there was an unspoken weight lifted off his shoulders. Next to him, Arthur was panting as if he had run a marathon in no time flat. 

“That was…” Merlin started, trying to come up with something clever to say, but his brain wasn’t cooperating. 

“hell?” Arthur supplied. He glanced at Merlin and barked out a laugh despite himself. Merlin started laughing as well and soon, the boys had collapsed on the floor in giggles. 

Arthur, still breathlessly laughing, was propped up against the door, as if his weight would keep anyone looking for them out, although knowing that if Uther wanted in, he would find a way in. Merlin’s body was held up against Arthur’s, leaning heavily into the boy’s side. 

“I knew it was going to be bad, but…”

Arthur chuckled. “Merry Christmas, Merlin.”

Merlin opened his mouth to return the greeting but not sound escaped before Arthur was there, his lips covering Merlin’s own in a sweet kiss. 

“What was that for?” Merlin asked when Arthur pulled away all too soon. 

Arthur shrugged and shifted so that he was facing forward. The blush from dinner had reappeared with abandon and was quickly creeping up his neck to spread over his face and ears. “Dunno,” he admitted with a shrug. “Just… during that horrible dinner, all I could think about was kissing you. So I did.”

Merlin nodded. As far as he was concerned, the logic was flawless. “Okay,” he said. Arthur nodded, keeping his eyes forward. Merlin huffed and pressed a kiss to Arthur’s cheek. 

Arthur’s blue eyes grew wide as his mind slowly registered what Merlin had just done and whipped his head to look at him. Merlin just shrugged. Arthur smiled. “So, what, are you my boyfriend now?”

“Maybe,” Merlin said, ducking his head as he suddenly felt overwhelmed with a unprecedented bout of bashfulness. “Dinner and a movie first, then I’ll decide.”

Arthur snorted but shifted so that his hand could seek out Merlin’s and hold it tight in his. “Okay.”

"So, do you really moon over me like that?" Merlin asked, giggling when Arthur playfully pushed him. Arthur was smiling too and didn't let go of Merlin's hand until Morgana came looking for them fifteen minutes later.


End file.
